People who have voted PN
all their lives, people who have lived with the idea that the PN is their
bulwark against violence, corruption and oppression, find it hard to admit that
not only is their protection gone for good but that it is their bulwark that is
exposing them to harm, to damage from which they will never recover.

Dr. Harry Vassallo

Chairman Alternattiva Demokratika

The Sunday Times 4.3.2007

More facts are now coming
to light on my statement that there was corruption in the Mater Dei project,
(Dr. Frank) Portelli, who has now incurred the wrath of his former party, told
MaltaToday yesterday.

MaltaToday 27.5.2007

The two Malta Transport
Authority (ADT) officials who were convicted of corruption last November have
been sacked by the authority, following a board meeting last Tuesday, the same
day outgoing CEO Gianfranco Selvaggi revealed that he had been “told” by the
Transport Ministry not to sack the two officials. … When finally contacted, the
minister admitted having told Mr Selvaggi to actually reverse a decision he had
taken last February to sack the officials …

At a time when government
appears beset by corruption allegations from all quarters, the fact that Gonzi
appears to have taken ownership of the controversial decision is deeply
inauspicious.

Editorjal, MaltaToday 11.7.2007

What on earth could have
led the Prime Minister to refuse the offer of resignation by Minister Jesmond
Mugliett? The minister had botched the whole affair compounding the
embarrassment of judicially-certified corruption in a public agency under his
custodianship. … The Prime Minister, in refusing to “decapitate” the minister
publicly, appears to condone and respect such adherence to the dominant loyalty
code of the anti-system instead of defending the state. How can he fail to see
how scandalous it all is? …

Dr. Harry Vassallo

The Times 13.7.2007

An overwhelming number of
respondents to an online poll by The Times have expressed their disapproval at
the way the government handles allegations of corruption. Just over 83 per cent
have given the thumbs down to the government's behaviour in the wake of a
controversy as to whether Roads Minister Jesmond Mugliett had attempted to put
the brakes on the sacking of two Malta Transport Authority
officials convicted of bribery.

The Times 17.7.2007

A Malta Maritime Authority
(MMA) official facing corruption charges in the mariners’ licences bribery
scandal has alleged that his superior, who is also indicted in the case, had
reassured him that a ministry official would cover up for their frauds. In his
interrogation at the police depot the day after his arrest on 13 June, MMA
clerk Ivan Muscat told investigators that his manager, John Farrugia, had
admitted there were fake navigators’ course certificates presented for the
issuing of licences, but told him not to worry as “someone in the ministry”
would cover them.

MaltaToday 5.8.2007

Granted, a number of cases
of corruption have come to light over the past months. Granted, the way some
political situations were handled by the government left much to be desired.

Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando

The Times 31.8.2007

We are not perfect. We
will continue to make mistakes because we are human. Corruption exists.

Dr. Louis Deguara (Ministru tas-Sahha)

The Times 14.9.2007

Malta, along with fellow
EU member state Austria, has “significantly worsened” in terms of public sector
corruption as perceived by business people and country analysts around the
world, according to the 2007 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released
yesterday by Transparency International. In compiling its annual index,
Transparency International – a global coalition against corruption – sources 14
different surveys by 12 bodies including the World Bank, the Economist
Intelligence Unit, the African Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
A country’s CPI Score indicates the degree of public sector corruption as
perceived by businesspeople and country analysts. This year Malta descended in the
international body’s ranking by five places, after having been ranked 28th in
2006 and falling to 33rd out of a total of 180 countries included in this
year’s index. The index ranks countries on a scale of zero, highly corrupt, to
10, virtually corruption free. In 2006 Malta achieved a 6.4 score,
while descending to 5.8 this year.

The Malta Independent 27.9.2007

A rotting Nationalist government
reeking of corruption.

Dr. Josie Muscat

The Times 1.10.2007

Veteran Labour MP Joseph
Brincat has presented a private member’s bill in Parliament to remove the
prescriptive time for crimes of corruption and abuse. Brincat has proposed that
the running of prescription be removed on crimes involving the corruption and
bribery of public officers, members of the judiciary and law enforcement
officials, MPs and councillors. The bill also calls for the removal of
prescription on cases where public officers take any private interest in the
issuing or adjudication of orders. “I consider that the matter should have been
on the agenda for a long time. It is true Labour promised this proposal in its
last electoral manifesto. I do not expect the PM from an opposing party would
legislate on parts on the Labour manifesto,” Brincat told MaltaToday.
Prescription bars criminal action from being taken in respect of several crimes
after a number of years elapse from when a crime is known to have been
committed.

MaltaToday 7.11.2007

Controlling corruption has
not been among Lawrence Gonzi’s foremost
successes as Prime Minister. In 2007 alone, we witnessed several cases which
embarrassed the Nationalist government for its mishandling of corrupt elements
in its bureaucracy.

Editorjal, MaltaToday 30.1.2008

In a sworn affidavit, Jo Said recounted how Nationalist MP David
Agius had admitted to him “that corruption runs deep in the Nationalist Party
and the government.” Mr Said met Mr Agius at his behest on 17 January morning
at Saracino’s in Attard square after they had met on a TV programme.

The Malta Independent Tuesday, 5 February 2008, 00:00

The government was seen to
have stumbled right from the start when, after the laying of the Auditor
General's report (Delimara Power Station Extension) on the Table of the House
of Representatives, the Finance Ministry said that, after a long and detailed
investigation, no evidence of corruption had been found. This is not what the
Auditor General said. What he said was that he did not come across any hard and
conclusive evidence of corruption. Unless the Auditor General clarifies the
point, this may well be taken to mean that corruption could not be excluded.

Editorjal, The Times 29.4.2010

The fact of the matter is
that corrupt traders engaged in corrupt practices with corrupt officials at
Enemalta. Of course, if a government minister is suspected of something
illegal, then they too should be made to answer. But the fact of the matter
remains to be that the corruption was most rife directly in the corridors of
Enemalta and the way the traders abused to system. The longer we dig, the more
we will find and the more will come to light. While corruption is to be fought
at all levels, it seems that the words of Wallstreet character Gordon Gecko
ring true: “Greed is good”. All over the world, the lines have become blurred,
and Malta is no exception. The fine
line between negotiating skills and outright corruption is often crossed. How
this whole stink was revealed is not relevant. What is relevant, however, is
that corruption needs to be tackled and stamped out – it is becoming very clear
that it was all spiraling out of control.

Editorjal, The Malta
Independent 18.12.2013

Il-Kaz tal-Konkrit uzat fil-bini ta’ Mater Dei

Perhaps the most interesting testimony was given by architect Albert
Cauchi, whose role was to review the structure and carry out onsite
inspections. Cauchi told the inquiry that there were various occasions on which
he had to stop the contractor from proceeding with certain works due to bad
workmanship or work practices and had ordered that some works be demolished. He
complained that it was impossible to oversee the works on the whole site due to
very limited manpower. During the
interview, Cauchi lamented that he wasn’t respected and at one point he went on
a rant exclaiming that “no one knew where the Lm200 million had gone to”.
Referring to the design and built cost plus contract as “obscene”, Cauchi said
it was “corruption. I could see it. And those who couldn’t, well they were
keeping their eyes closed.

Maltatoday.com.mt 3 June 2015, 8:13am

A network of corruption and shady deals thrived during the PN’s
tenure of office.

Michael Falzon, ex Ministru Nazzjonalista

maltatoday.com 27 September 2016, 8:49am

You can buy Lou Bondi. You can buy Mario Demarco. But you can’t buy
me.

Daphne Caruana Galizia

Running commentary 10.3.2017

The Nationalist Party’s propaganda machine accuses Joseph Muscat of
being corrupt when it is now becoming clear that, even at party level, things
were not being run as they should have been. All candidates for the PN
leadership are directly or indirectly admittingto this fact. The truth is that
the NationalistParty is now appearing as possibly even more corrupt than that
of Joseph Muscat.